The Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s 9.0.0 patch notes have finally arrived, bringing with it Minecraft Steve, the Minecraft stage (with all of its biomes,) as well as a number of other interesting changes. 

The most notable change, outside of Minecraft Steve’s addition to the game, is a fix to online lobbies. Previously, online lobbies had a tick rate of 30 here, meaning they would update 30 times per second to bring the match stage to the same point. That was previously updated in Quickmatch and 1v1 matches to 60 hertz. Now, four-player lobbies have also had the same change made. This not only affects four-player games, but also spectators if you have a 1v1 match happening with two players connected. This means that having spectators present will no longer cause lag, meaning you can throw down with some hype matches in front of a few friends without issue now.

More importantly for the Smash tournament community, this means that spectators being connected will no longer cause lag or cause the match to have a lower tickrate. Huge news for a competitive community that’s been forced to play online in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

On Smash Ultimate character balance, several characters received upgrades in the patch 9.0.0 notes, without any significant nerfs to any of the cast. This continues the Smash team’s philosophy on balance to give every character kill options and bring them up to par with the other members of the cast, rather than nerfing characters that are already considered high tier. 

Sonic had probably the most significant changes and changes that might bring him back into relevance in the Smash Ultimate metagame. Notably, his up air and upwards smash attack both had changes that make it easier to hit multiple times with them. This limits the options of someone caught in those techniques and should lead more reliably to kills, something that Sonic has struggled with ever since his inception in Brawl. 

The Belmonts, Simon and Richter, both received buffs as well that should give them more kill options outside of simply spamming your opponent with projectiles. Notably, his up tilt and dash attacks both have increased power. Their recovery has also been buffed as the range on their up special attacks has been increased. This will lead to not only less cheap deaths, but also more kill options in the air against falling or juggled opponents. 

Ness got a few buffs as well that should increase his killing proficiency. Nearly all of his attacks have had either their speed or power increased, which should make him less of a character that relies on PK Fire spam, and more so on the rest of his toolkit. 

Lucario also got a significant buff in that Aura was seriously buffed. Now the threshold for his max power has been increased further, allowing him to become even stronger than previously. Add in that several of his moves have had their properties buffed and he could easily become a force to be reckoned with in competitive matches. 

Read on for the full Smash Ultimate patch 9.0.0 notes below:

Patch 9.0.0

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Patch Notes

Donkey Kong	Side Special	Increased attack range vertically for opponents on the ground when the move is used on the ground.
Link	Up Smash Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Pikachu	Forward Air Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Ness	Dash Attack	Increased power of the third attack and extended launch distance.
Ness	Up Tilt Attack	Maintained the launch distance and increased power.
Ness	Down Air Attack	Increased attack speed.
Ness	Up Throw	Increased power.
Ness	Neutral Special	Increased attack speed.
Captain Falcon	Up Smash Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Ice Climber	Basic Movements	Decreased the damage Nana takes.Shortened launch distance for Nana.Adjusted Nana’s AI behavior.
Ice Climber	Dash Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.Increased attack range.
Ice Climber	Down Smash Attack	Extended launch distance.
Ice Climber	Side Special	Increased the speed of the edge-grab timing.
Ice Climber	Up Special	Made it so that Nana performing an up special automatically will not prevent the player from performing an up special.Increased the distance that it is possible for Popo and Nana to Belay together.
Sheik	Up Tilt Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Young Link	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Meta Knight	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Wario	Up Special	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Ivysaur	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Charizard	Side Special	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Charizard	Up Special	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Sonic	Dash Attack	Maintained the launch distance and increased power.Reduced vulnerability.
Sonic	Up Tilt Attack	Reduced vulnerability.
Sonic	Up Smash Attack	Increased attack speed.Increased the amount of time invincibility lasts before and after becoming round.Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Sonic	Up Air Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Lucario	Etc.	Increased the max value the Aura will strengthen attack power.
Lucario	Neutral Attack 1	Increased attack speed.
Lucario	Side tilt Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Lucario	Down Smash Attack	Increased attack speed.
Lucario	Up Special	Reduced vulnerability when landing after using the move.
Lucario	Side Special	Extended launch distance for the Aura area.
Mii Swordfighter	Up Special 3	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Robin	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Shulk	Up Smash Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Shulk	Neutral Special	Extended the distance that Shulk can be launched while Monado Arts (Shield) is active.
Shulk	Down Special	Extended launch distance.
Bowser Jr.	Basic Movements	Adjusted certain landing behaviors to no longer prevent passing through platforms.
Bowser Jr.	Side Tilt Attack	Extended launch distance.
Bowser Jr.	Up Smash Attack	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Bowser Jr.	Down Smash Attack	Increased attack speed.
Bowser Jr.	Forward Throw	Extended launch distance.
Bowser Jr.	Edge Attacks	Increased the power of the attack used when grabbing edges after an up special.
Bowser Jr.	Side Special	Made it hard to flinch from opponent’s attacks.
Bowser Jr.	Up Special	Increased attack speed.
Ken	Final Smash	Made it easier to hit multiple times.
Bayonetta	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Ridley	Flurry Attack	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Ridley	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Ridley	Up Special	The hit detection when charging downward and landing will only affect opponents on the ground.
Simon	Flurry Attack	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Simon	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Simon	Dash Attack	Increased power.Extended launch distance when at low damage.
Simon	Up Tilt Attack	Extended launch distance when at low damage.
Simon	Up Smash Attack	Increased attack speed.Extended launch distance.
Simon	Down Smash Attack	Extended launch distance.
Simon	Up Special	Increased attack range.
Richter	Flurry Attack	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Richter	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Richter	Dash Attack	Increased power.Extended launch distance when at low damage.
Richter	Up Tilt Attack	Extended launch distance when at low damage.
Richter	Up Smash Attack	Increased attack speed.Extended launch distance.
Richter	Down Smash Attack	Extended launch distance.
Richter	Up Special	Increased attack range.
Piranha Plant	Flurry Attack	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Piranha Plant	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Banjo & Kazooie	Flurry Attack	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Banjo & Kazooie	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.
Min Min	Flurry Attack to KO	Made it so the attack does not get neutralized.

The new Smash Ultimate patch is available to download from the main menu on Nintendo Switch by hitting the + button and selecting update game. However, make sure you’ve backed up your replay files first because they won’t work after the update otherwise.